The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has planned to complete 1,543km of road works, 2,000km of footpaths and 1,028km of bicycle tracks during the next five years 2018-22.

“The department of maintenance of roads’ safety has already completed 36 projects including 371 bicycle tracks from 2014 to 2017,” said Eng. Yousef Al Emadi, Director of the Highways Department at the Ashghal. He was speaking at the sixth Forum of the Stakeholder Coordinators of the National Road Safety Strategy at the Intercontinental Doha the City Hotel yesterday.

“Ashghal will implement during the five-year plan 2018-2022 a total of 25 implementation plans for road safety assessment and follow-up, including safety of work sites, traffic congestion management, intelligent transportation system and road safety which includes an emergency team to respond to the urgent maintenance and study of guidance boards and ensure the safety of pedestrians and management of traffic congestion during the hosting of the World Cup 2022,” said Al Emadi.

Speaking at the event Dr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of the Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health and member of the National Traffic Safety Committee said that despite the rapid population growth in Qatar, emergency services and emergency medical response have witnessed a major development.

The Forum was organised by the National Traffic Safety Committee within the framework of the second phase of the implementation of the implementation of the National Strategy for Traffic Safety (2018-2022).

Dr Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani added: “We aim to provide the best services, such as flying ambulance and high-quality 24/7 emergency care services and reducing the incidence of disabilities due to accidents via Qatar Rehabilitation Center, which is the largest specialized hospital of its kind in the region,” he added.

Brig. Mohamed Saad Al Kharji, Second Vice-President of the National Traffic Safety Committee and Director General of Traffic Department said that the first phase of the implementation of the strategy (2013-2017) achieved remarkable results, which resulted in a decrease in the mortality rate in 2017 to 177. The plan is to reduce the number of deaths due to to 130 annually by 2022.

Rashed Taleb Al Nabit, Assistant Undersecretary for Land Transport Affairs said that the work has started to link between different means of transportation in the country in order to serve users, ease transportation and reduce congestion and pressure on road networks.

Professor Kim Jraiw, Manager of the National Road Safety Office emphasized the importance of cooperation between government institutions, the private sector, civil society organisations and all sectors of the society.